shamisen
A traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument usually played with a plectrum called a bachi.
The occasional association with cats comes from the fact that shamisen skins were traditionally made using dog or cat skin, with cat skin favored for finer instruments.
For the cat from the Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu series, see Shamisen.
The shamisen is derived from the Chinese sanxian and Okinawan sanshin, both of which it can be confused with. If the image has visibly Chinese elements in clothing or architecture, the instrument is a sanxian. If there is a bachi, it will always be a shamisen. Sanshin are made of snake skin, have more rounded bodies, and are often played with a fingerpick. However, the sanxian is also traditionally made of snake skin, so the cultural context matters the most when tagging.
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The following tags are aliased to this tag: shamisen_(instrument) (learn more).
This tag implicates instrument (learn more).
